INTRODUCTION. 



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Map of the Earth on a plane surface. 



The following table exhibits the principal islands throughout the globe, with their extent. 



Name. 



Extent. Sq. Ms. 



Name. 



Extent. Sq. Ma. 



Name. 



Extent. Sq. Ms 



New Holland 



3,000,000 



Luzon 



65,000 



Ireland 



32,000 



Borneo 



300,000 



Niphon 



54,000 



St. Domingo 



28,000 



Madagascar 



220,000 



Java 



5] ,000 



Sicily 



10,455 



New Guinea 



290,000 



Cuba 



45,000 



Sardinia 



9,120 



Sumatra 



150,000 



New Zealand N. Is. 



43,600 



Owyhee 



4,000 



Celebes 



60,000 



Iceland 



40,000 



Long Island 



1,400 



Great Britain 



88,573 



Newfoundland 



38,500 



Otaheite 



600 



Nova Zembla 



81,000 



New Zealand S. Is. 



36,000 







3. Capes, Peninsulas, &c. A part of the land running out into the sea, and joined to the 

 mainland only by a narrow neck is called a peninsula ; projections of land of less extent, reach- 

 ing but a little way into the sea are called capes, headlands, promontories, or points. A narrow 

 neck of land joining larger masses is called an isthmus. 



4. Oceans. There is in fact one continuous mass of water, called the ocean, surrounding 

 the land which rises above its level in continents and islands ; but for convenience sake differ 

 ent parts of it have distinct names given to them, as appears by the following table : 



I. The great Southeastern Basin, the waters of which cover nearly half the globe, 

 includes : 



I. The Pacific Ocean 11,000 miles in length from east to west, and 8,000 in breadth, occu- 

 pying a superficial space rather larger than the whole mass of the dry land. It extends from 

 Behring's Straits on the north, to a line drawn from Cape Horn to Van Diemen's Land on the 

 south ; and from America on the East, to Asia, Malaysia, and Australia on the west. In 

 consequence of the wide expanse of its surface it is remarkably exempt from storms, except 

 near its moimtainous shores, and hence its name. It is often also called the South Sea ; 



II. The Indian Ocean, Ijnng between Africa on the west, and Malaysia, and Australia on 

 the east, and between Asia on the north, and a line drawn from the Cape of Good Hope to 

 Van Diemen's Land on the south, is about 4,500 miles in length and breadth ; it covers a 

 surface of about 17,000,000 square miles ; 



III. The Southern or Jlntarctic Ocean surrounds the south pole, lying to the Gouth of a line 

 drau'n quite round the globe from Cape Horn, along the southern extremity of New Zealand, 



